Improved apparatus for imparting artificial age to wine and spirits



A gaat @anni s AMUEL'c. BRUCE,

or NEW YORK, N. Y.

LertarcPa/tent No. 86,640, dated February 9, 1869.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making pari: of thesama.

vTo all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, SAMUEL O. BRUCE, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented an Improved Method of Imparting Artificial Ageto Wines or Liquors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makingpart of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of theapparatus which I employ.

FigureV 2 is an elevation of one side of the same.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line -x a: ofiig. l.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section ou the lines y y of figs. 1and 3.

. All wines and liquors contain a certain oil that imparts the flavor orbouquet characteristic of each kind;

and it is well known that the breaking up of the oilyl globules, andthethorough commingling of the oil thus liberated, with the body of theliquor, will impart an vartilicial age thereto.

. This artificial age has hitherto been produced either by subjectingthe liquor to a long voyage, or by allowing it to fall, drop by drop,from a height.

The former method, however, consumes considerable time, while the latteris objectionable on account of the large percentage of waste which iscaused by evaporation.

My invention has for its object to overcome these diiiculties, and toartificially produce the edect of age in wine or liquor, in a rapid andeconomical manner; this eect being produced by passing it through one ormore cylinders, provided withrevolving arms or flashers, by which meansythe liquor is violently agil tated, causing the oily globules to bebroken up, and

their contents thoroughly mixed with the body of the liquor, asrequired.,V y

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention,I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A and B represent two airtight cylinders, arrangedclosely together, yand commu ni :ating with each other by means of aperipheral ex` haust or passage, a.

Within each of the cylinders A B is a wheel, or dasher, C, composed ofarms or blades b, projecting radially from a hub, c, secured to a shaft,d, which revolves in suitable bearings in the frame-work D, and

carries a drum, e, over which passes the belt (not shown) by which it isdriven.

The shafts d pass through stuffing-boxes f, and are closely packed, soas to eifectually exclude the air from the cylinders A B, which are madeperfectly air-tight, except at the points where the liquor is receivedand discharged. Two cocks, 5 and 6, are, howeverpro vided, for thepurpose of admitting air, should it be found desirable.

rllhe outer extremities of the arms b are provided with tappets orbeaters y, which, as they revolve, strikel against the liquor within thecylinders, violently agitating it, and causing the oily globules to bebroken up, and 'their contents thoroughly commingled with the body ofthe liquor, as required, to articially produce the effect of age.

The length of the arms l) is such that a small space will be leftbetween the outer ends of the tappets g and the inside of the cylinder,so that, as the tappets revolve, a thin sheet or layer of the liquorwill be left around the inside of the cylinder, and against this layerthe particles of liquor will be thrown or dashed, instead of against themetallic surface of the interior of the cylinder, the particles thusrubbing against each other, instead of against a metallic surface.

rlhe liquor,'under a head or pressure, and at a temperature of about 800Fahrenheit, is introduced through a pipe into the -cylinder A, at h, andis acted on bythe.

tappets g, which, as they revolve in the direction of the arrow, forceit through the exhaust-passage a into the 'cylinder B, where it is againviolently agitated by the revolving tappets, and discharged at i, whenceit passes to a suitable tank, from which it may be pumped up, and againpassed through the cylinders, until it has been subjected to the amountof agitation required to produce the desired effect.

A separate tank must be provided for the liquor.vr

which is discharged from the cylinders, in order to ohviate the mixingof the treated with the crude liquor, the tank being so arranged that itmay be readily connected with the apparatus when it is desired to passthe liquor again through the cylinders.

By heating the liquor to a temperature of about 80o Fahrenheit, as abovedescribed, the size of the globules is increased, and the processthereby facilitated;

The wheels or dashers C within the cylinders may be revolved at an equalvelocity. I prefer from two thousand to three thousand five hundredrevolutions per minute, the discharge-opening c' being of suicient 4size to admit of the apparatus clearing `itself without the necessity ofcausing one wheel to .revolve at a greater velocitythan the other.

The wheels or dashers may, however, be made to revolve at dilferentvelocities, if preferred.

Instead of passing the liquor through two cylinders,

as above described, it may be made to pass through one cylinder only,the operation being repeated until thedesired effect has been produced,or it may pass through a series of three or more cylinders, suitablyconnected together, if preferred.

Access is obtained to theninte'rior of thecylinders may be varied to laconsiderable-extent, without def` parting from the spirit of myinvention; and by means of an apparatus constructed substantially asabove de- O, and blades b, in combination with the shaft d and scribed,I aim enabled to articially produce the ect drum e, or theirequivalents, substantially as and for of age, in any variety of wineordistilled liquor, in a, the purpose set forth.

inuch'more rapid .and economical manner than has S. C. BRUCE.

hitherto been found practicable. Witnesses: a

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure A. L; R. HALLOWELL,by Letters Patent, is- MAX MOELLER.

.One or more cylinders, each provided with a. dasher,

